Anti-Islam Pegida founder Lutz Bachmann guilty of inciting hatred

A court in Dresden has found the head of the German anti-Islam Pegida movement guilty of inciting hatred. Lutz Bachmann was fined €9,600 (£7,600, $11,050) by the court on 3 May after describing immigrants as "scum" and "cattle" in Facebook posts.

During the trial Bachmann's lawyer claimed that he had not posted the comments, however, the prosecution showed video footage of Bachmann defending the comments at a 2015 Pegida rally in Dresden.

The prosecution, which had demanded a jail sentence for Bachmann, and the defence both said they will appeal the decision.

Tens of thousands attended the Pegida group's initial rallies in the eastern German city in 2014, however, support dwindled when pictures emerged of Bachmann posing as Adolf Hitler. The refuge crisis saw support surge again, with opponents of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door refugee policy attending rallies in cities across Germany.

Bachmann's laywer, Katja Reichel, argued that his Facebook account could have been hacked. But in video footage shown at the trial Bachmann defended the Facebook comments to Pegida supporters, remarking the post used "a few words that any of us would use".

Trial judge Hans Hlavka told the court that it was clear that Bachmann was responsible for the comments, which could not be defended under freedom of speech laws.